Happy Easter! Joyeuse Pâque!

Happy Easter and a Joyeuse Pâque to you all! The Lord is risen. He is risen indeed!

First the song we have been listening to all morning with props to Sam...
Delirious--Hands of Kindness

Now some emily thoughts...
Church this morning was amazing. An entirely different Easter Sunday then I have ever seen and yet once again I am awed by how God works in France. Today our church welcomed to the pulpit a gospel choir from Grenoble. They sang like you would imagine the old southern baptist churches to praise complete with long flowy robes and piano accompaniment. Brief sidenote: the pianist(s) where amazing. The best pianists I have seen in a long long time! Alright and back to my original thoughts...Church was incredible. It's funny to see a different way of praising the Lord on such a day! I love being a part of this church and have come to love the congregation as my own during these past 8 months. Next week we are heading to one of the families houses for a brief lunch and farewell to the church before I fly home!

Easter here has so far consisted of a wonderful church service (see above) and a tasty lunch made by Mike. It was quite a surprise to be cooked such a wonderful lunch and we all appreciated this gesture immensly. Come on how can you pass up chicken, potatoes, hot cross buns, cake, and carrots?

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So to catch you all up on life...
Theresa had her baby this past Saturday morning. He was born healthy at 6 and a half pounds and they named him Theodore Jessie Anderson. We cannot wait to get to see he and mommy!

We had our end of season party this past weekend at a wonderful little pizzeria and had our goodbyes. Usually when equipiers are leaving camp Blain does a little presentation with bible verse that describes their time, chocolate, picture frame of their time here, and a tee shirt. So this time it was my turn. My verse is Deuteronomy 16:15(b) I think. Supposedly because of my Joy. Kristin's verse was from Matthew and talked about her servant heart.

Two weeks ago we spent a week working with a missions trip group from Boston that I have previously mentioned. The time was amazing! We had a chance to connect to some other teens living and working in france and a family that moved here around the same time as us with two teens our age. Besides that it was great catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones! It made me rediscover how much I love american teenagers. God works in mysterious manners. The week itself was filled with day trips, shopping, and then the missions side. We helped to restore an apartment for the Language school in Alberville. We also worked with two different youth groups and worked with many of the missionary families living in the area. It was an incredible week for everyone and I think the teens that came over got a really realistic view of missions and the culture of France.

It's snowing. Did it snow on Christmas? No. Is it snowing on Easter? Yes. Strange, very strange.

This past week we have had more snow than any other time here at camp. Friday morning we awoke to fresh snow and more falling from the sky by the minute. We convinced our boss to let us be ski bums and headed to the mountains. The snow was epic and up to my knees in some places! Literally the best snow that I have ever skied in! We will be getting in one more day of skiing as we will work with a group this coming Thursday.

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Since it is Easter I thought I would end this blog by reminding you all what this wonderful holiday means for me! Today is the most important day for me because it is the day that Christ was risen. During the time of the Crucifiction many men claimed to be Kings and yet mine died for this claim and to fulfill the prophesies he rose again making him stand apart from the rest. Without this important day the death of Christ is just the death of another man claiming to be God, but through his resurection he provided a pathway for us to live again and the proof of his origin.

"For God so loved the world that he sent his only son so that he might die for our sins and grant us eternal life" (John 3:16). This same man rose again today. He lived and died so that I might live eternally. He has granted me life through his death. He was sent to earth with this purpose. He died on a cross and took upon himself the sins of the whole world (you included) whether we accept this free gift or not is our own choice, but it has been made regardless. To accept this gift we must acknowledge his death on the cross for our sins. Today is the day we celebrate that our Christ has overcome death!

I hope you all enjoy your celebrations wherever you may be. I am getting yelled at as we are supposed to be going sledding now with a group from church! Salut!